Blog 5 - May 2026

So, I shrunk my Windows drive on this laptop and loaded Kubuntu Linux because I quite like writing in LibreOffice which is the default Linux office suite. I also like the disconnection from Google Drive and Microsoft Onedrive while saving my work to the hard drive on this machine. It is so peaceful.

I’ve been trying the audio bible function on You Version lately. I find it really easy to listen to and to cover quite a few chapters at a time. It is much easier to close listen than to close read. I have tried the New King James, the New Living Translation and New American Standard 2020. The New King James has a really poetic sounding narrator which is by far the coolest. The New Living Translation is very good at unpacking concepts while the New American Standard is by far the clearest translation and potentially the least inaccurate.

I have found using the audio feature the clearest method of comparing the bible versions that I have ever been able to use. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who wants to dig deeply into the scriptures to consider using the You Version bible app and give it a shot. A really easy and relaxing method of following the themes in the bible with much greater clarity. It works well beside conventional bible reading methods as well.

I was talking to a non Christian friend at work the other day. He was talking about another man who works at the school and relating his discussion with the man about Trump and the Middle East. It turns out that the other man was a Christian and described the actions of Trump and Iran in Christian terms to my friend.

My friend said that the other man had said that the end of this situation would see the return of Jesus Christ. My friend said if the man had of had the time he would have tried to convert him to Christianity. I didn’t expand on the conversation with him as he had already made up his mind about becoming a Christian or not.

I was impressed with the Christian for making a good attempt to lead my friend to Christ through a discussion of global current events. This all highlights the opportunity to share the gospel with folk through the evolving world situation. Opportunities arise wherever we are.

I must admit I tend to be much more subtle with sharing my faith with my colleagues and I usually only mention the odd bible verse that might apply to a discussion of children’s behavior. An example is that scripture used in Judges about every man doing what was right in his own eyes. This applies so well to many of the youngsters in schools these days.

This all underlines the opportunities that are available to us to witness to friends and colleagues in one form or another. I know I am always looking to share when a possibility shows up and I can add faith to the discussion in a fluid manner.

I guess the extension of this conversation is the world we live in on a daily basis. A world which contains the literal, and living, nation of Israel. An Israel which God has gathered from the nations of the Earth. A world where Islam opposes Judaism and Christianity globally. A world where America and Europe are fledglings of the beast empire to come. A day preceding the coming Day of the Lord and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. A time of great judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

To conclude: Now is the day of your salvation. Now is the time to hear the gospel and to make a decision for citizenship in the eternal Kingdom of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but will inherit eternal life. For He sent His Son not to condemn the world but to save it. For it is also written that there is none righteous not even one and all have sinned, all fallen short of the glory of God. For the wages of our sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. For I am certain that there is no other name under heaven by which you much be saved. For faith is given to you as a gift and salvation cannot be earned by any action of man but only through the shed blood and broken body of Jesus Christ who crucified for the sins of mankind and those for whom it is given by the Father to be saved. Those who believe on the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. This is my paraphrase of some important bible verses.